CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & FOUNDER
GRASSLANDS: A JOURNALISM-MINDED AGENCY

Ricardo Baca is a 20-year veteran journalist, keynote speaker, TEDx veteran and thought leader in modern media and drug-policy circles. He served as The Denver Post’s first-ever marijuana editor and founded news vertical The Cannabist, where he extensively covered the advent of adult-use cannabis and related issues across the country and around the world, as seen in the feature documentary Rolling Papers (Netflix).

In 2016, Ricardo launched Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency to work directly with business leaders in highly regulated industries, including cannabis, energy and traditional healthcare.

Named Marketer of the Year by AdCann in 2019 and 2021, Ricardo has received numerous accolades for his trailblazing work covering drug policy, cannabis business and culture, and continues to columnize and host podcasts for a number of top publications.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & FOUNDER
CANNABIS DOING GOOD

As the founder for Cannabis Doing Good and the Cannabis Impact Fund, Kelly drives intention into action-oriented, purpose-driven cannabis partnerships to support racial equity/justice, positive community impact, and environmental sustainability.

Through her work creating Cannabis Social Responsibility (CSR), Kelly helps to shift the cannabis narrative—from the War on Drugs, to a cultural sea change where opportunities are racially equitable, policy is just, communities benefit, and cannabis is a model of circular economics. Kelly believes every cannabis company has the power to receive measurable ROI in the process of doing the right thing; purpose driven consumers vote with their dollars.

The Cannabis Impact Fund (501c3) brings a cannabis presence, and financial resources, to national anti-racism efforts, and supports homegrown cannabis racial justice efforts.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & FOUNDER
CANNABIS DOING GOOD & THE CANNABIS IMPACT FUND

Courtney specializes in creating opportunities for cannabis businesses to engage with nonprofits, neighborhood groups, and other sector leaders. Her work spaNS from boutique dispensaries to national cannabis industry groups. In addition to co-founding kindColorado and the Cannabis Social Responsibility™ framework, she is also the co-founder and CEO of Cannabis Doing Good, a platform which creates opportunities for cannabis and communities to collaborate, to inspire new ways of people, planet and business engagement, and to showcase companies doing good. Courtney believes the cannabis industry has the profound ability to create a confluence of economic, social and political change.

Her agencies, kindColorado and Cannabis Doing Good, have been featured in MJBiz Magazine, Culture Magazine, Marijuana Moment, Green Entrepreneur, Dope Magazine, ABC News, Nonprofit Quarterly News, LeafBuyer and others showcasing our business’ landmark process and community impact for those clients they serve. In 2018 kindColorado was recognized by Green Entrepreneur as one of the Top 100 Cannabis Companies in the United States and has been nominated by The Cannabist Awards, Cannabis Business Awards, and Weed Week for work in social responsibility.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & CO-FOUNDER
HAPPY MUNKEY - NEW YORK

Vladimir Bautista is a formidable advocate and leader in the cannabis space. He is the co-founder and managing member of Happy Munkey LLC, an internationally-known NYC lifestyle company that is synonymous with cannabis culture.

With 22 years in the legacy market under his belt and being Born and raised in Hamilton Heights, NYC Vlad is well known in his city and is widely recognized for his deep relationships with the international cannabis elite and his successful experiences in music, hospitality, and event production. Vlad provides corporate cannabis access to the authentic NYC cannabis scene, community, and culture.

Under Vlad’s leadership, Happy Munkey hosts popular VIP events that connect politicians, chefs, doctors, lawyers, influencers, athletes, creative artists, and everyone in between with each other based on a mutual love of the cannabis plant. Happy Munkey has grown to earn recognition as a prominent voice in New York cannabis culture by the people as well as media outlets like Forbes, The New York Post, and Ebony Magazine.

DIRECT OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, THE PEOPLES ECOSYSTEM
HOST, THE PEOPLE ARE BLUNT PODCAST

Educating and organizing is what Frederika Easley is all about!

For over a decade Frederika has worked in various capacities around the country on campaigns with a central focus of tipping power dynamics in the favor of working families and assisting them with realizing their power. In New Orleans she worked to organize educators who decided to return after the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

In Detroit it was the fight to regain local control of the school district and for much needed and deserved resources. Most recently, organizing nurses and healthcare professionals to build union density in facilities and within large healthcare groups.

Her passion led her to work on committee's that addressed issues such as racial equity, diversity hiring and retention practices and professionalism. Also creating a national task force to tackle inequities experienced by both employees and consumers of our nation's healthcare system.

She is excited to bring that same passion to equity work in cannabis.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE & FOUNDER
THE PEOPLE’S ECOSYTEM & THE PEOPLE’S DAO

Christine De La Rosa was recently named one of the 22 Cannabis Leaders Who Will Shape the Industry in 2022, in 2021 she was on the list for 10 Women to watch out for: Industry luminaries and rising stars, and in 2020 one of 35 Most Influential Women in Cannabis in 2020. As a thought leader and one of the most sought after advisors in the cannabis industry she sits on the advisory boards of Tetragram, Regennabis, and Cannabis Doing Good.

Christine was recently appointed to the Board of the National Cannabis Industry Association and is the chair of their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. She is the lead author of Gender Parity in the C-Suite and co-author of Pathways to Equity Ownership in the Cannabis Industry as part of National Cannabis Industry Association’s and The Arcview Group’s co-sponsored Gender Equity Cannabis White Papers. She has advised both local, state, and federal governments across the US on social equity in cannabis, as well as written position papers for New York, California, and Arizona with recommendations on their legalization and implementation of cannabis regulation. Additionally, she serves as part of the New York Cannabis Industry Association Special Advisor Group - Social and Economic Equity and Social Justice.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CANIVISION

Rico Lamitte is the founder and CEO of Canivision. In 2016 a cancer scare led Lamitte to abruptly leave a nearly 10-year career in corporate finance into the cannabis industry. Rico’s been able to successfully navigate the industry’s notoriously difficult California business climate; building brands and forging lasting relationships throughout the state.

An original co-founder of the National Diversity and Inclusion Cannabis Alliance (NDICA), Rico has actively assisted several nationwide social impact organizations with their own community initiatives in the same vein.

Helping companies on both sides of the cannabis industry (plant-touching and ancillary) Rico has taken his marketing chops to the editorial board as the CMO of the State of Cannabis Newshour, a daily radio talk show where industry leaders, regulators, and lovers of cannabis gather collectively to discuss the lasted news and policy headlines affecting the industry.

Along the way, he has hosted, emceed, and produced events of all sizes for celebrities, professional athletes, and investors looking to get into the green lane; effectively becoming the hub for all interested parties both in and outside of big cannabis, CBD, and hemp industries.